Blockchain.com has tens of millions of account holders, and they could soon get access to tokenized versions of U.S.-listed stocks. The catch is that the trading would happen on a venue the New York Stock Exchange is still building.
The New York Stock Exchange and Blockchain.com have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch tokenized stocks. A memorandum like this is a commitment to cooperate. It does not launch anything, and the agreement comes with conditions.
The conditions matter more than the headline
According to Wednesday’s statement, Blockchain.com users would be able to trade tokenized U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds on the NYSE’s planned digital alternative trading system, if the deal is approved. Two words in that sentence carry most of the weight. “If approved” means the arrangement still needs sign-off. “Planned” means the trading venue has not been built yet.
The NYSE first described the venue in January. The exchange said it was developing a platform where traders could buy and sell tokenized versions of U.S.-listed equities and exchange-traded funds, with trades settling on the blockchain 24/7. The Blockchain.com agreement is the first sign of who might send customers there.
Both sides are selling access
Peter Smith, Blockchain.com’s executive chairman and CEO, framed the deal around who gets to invest. “People shouldn’t be limited in owning stocks based on where they happen to live or the brokerage and information they may or may not have access to,” he said in a statement.
He added: “Connecting to the NYSE digital alternative trading system will enable us to extend the opportunity to invest in these digital assets to tens of millions of Blockchain.com users around the world.”
Lynn Martin, president of NYSE Group, made a wider point. “The future of capital markets belongs to institutions that unite the trust of traditional finance with the innovation and accessibility of digital assets,” she said.
Those are ambitious statements. Neither company has said when trading would begin or which stocks would be offered first.
Wall Street keeps investing in crypto infrastructure
This is not the NYSE family’s first move into crypto. Earlier this year, Intercontinental Exchange, the NYSE’s parent company, announced an investment in crypto exchange OKX.
Tokenization is the main attraction. BlackRock and Franklin Templeton have used blockchain rails to tokenize money funds for years. The difference now is how fast things are moving. Momentum picked up after the U.S. elected pro-crypto president Donald Trump and regulators took a friendlier approach to overseeing the sector. Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved trading in tokenized stocks.
Competing deals are already running
In January, the S&P 500 approved crypto platform Trade[XYZ] to launch a new derivative contract on the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, which lets traders trade the stock index 24-7.
Last month, Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced a deal with fintech company SoFi Technologies. Crypto orders from SoFi customers will be routed through Kraken’s institutional trading platform, and SoFi’s stablecoin will be listed on the exchange.
Next to those two deals, the NYSE agreement is behind. The S&P contract and the SoFi routing both come with announced mechanics. The NYSE deal so far has a memorandum, a trading system still in development and an approval it has not yet received. If you already have a Blockchain.com account, don’t deposit money expecting to buy tokenized NYSE shares next week. Wait for the NYSE to open its digital venue and name its first listings.